Judging by some of the tweets and reactions I’ve seen from UFC flyweights, seems like the destruction of the division is pretty much a done deal. With Demetrious Johnson headed to ONE Championship, the UFC seems totally uninterested in maintaining a men’s 125-pound division. So, yeah, sorry to all you fighters who sacrificed and strived to chase this dream. Better luck elsewhere.

I can’t say I’m terribly surprised, but I also can’t say I like the decision. There are a lot of talented fighters at flyweight. The last title fight in that division was a masterpiece of technical brilliance on both sides. If you cut the whole division you essentially tell us that you don’t care if the product you’re selling is actually good – you only care that it makes money.

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Again, not surprising for anyone who’s followed the UFC for any length of time. Still disheartening, though.

My hope is that, as with Johnson himself, the division will find a home elsewhere and be more appreciated in the end. Because there really are some amazing fighters there. Someone’s got to be able to find a use for them.

And if they do? Just remember that the UFC has dumped weight classes before, only to change its mind later on. If someone else can make it work to great effect, this door could reopen somewhere down the line.

Yair Rodriguez vs Korean Zombie is an excellent fight but surely the crazy Perry vs Cerrone fight would attract more eyeballs. Shouldn't that be the main event? I thougt the UFC was in the entertainment business.

I see your point, but it’s worth noting that the original main event here was Chan Sung Jung vs. Frankie Edgar. Then Edgar got hurt, Yair Rodriguez stepped up to fill in, and the bout retained main event status, probably because it was the only one where the participants had already agreed to five rounds.

Donald Cerrone vs. Mike Perry should be a bit of violent fun, it’s true. It’s also one of those fights that feels like we’re doing it just for the hell of it. In other words, it’s perfect as a co-main event, and we won’t have to stay up quite as long to see it. I’m not complaining about that.

News just broke that Floyd Money Mayweather is out of whatever the hell he was set to do over in Rizin. How does this make you feel (in GIF format if you would please)?

You’re asking the wrong question here. Nobody in their right mind is even trying to argue that Brock Lesnar “deserves” a title shot. Certainly Daniel Cormier isn’t thinking about it in those terms. He’s thinking about getting paid. He only has so much time left on the meter, and Lesnar brings the pay-per-view buys. It’s the kind of big, stupid fun that MMA fans can’t resist.

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As for Stipe Miocic? I don’t blame him for being upset, but he’s also been around long enough to know how this works. His run as champ was a record-breaking one, but it was also somewhat underwhelming at the box office. He didn’t always make himself the easiest to work with, and he didn’t try particularly hard at selling himself as champ. Then he lost the title and the UFC was perfectly content to move on.

Is it fair? Not really. The most successful heavyweight champ in UFC history probably deserved a rematch. Then again, he also got knocked out in the first round four months ago. The fact that he hasn’t gotten a crack at the title already isn’t exactly the most egregious miscarriage of justice we’ve seen in this sport.

What are your best guesses for where the Ben Askren hype train ends up? End of the day will he be left standing as potential goat or does he get exposed for an undefeated record by beating up lesser opponents?

Ben Askren is 34, hasn’t fought in a year, and he’s making his debut against one of the scariest dudes in the division. So it seems like the UFC is in a hurry to get an answer to that question.

If I had to guess, I’d say Askren beats a lot of current UFC welterweights. I also think it doesn’t end up being very much fun to watch, which means the UFC won’t have any special reason to make things easy on him. And you can only fight for so long at this level before you have a bad night. It happens to everyone if they stick around long enough.

Thoughts on One FC investing $50,000,000 in eSports, and putting DJ up front as the brand ambassador? Personally I’m all for it, as the target-demo Venn diagram is probably just a circle. What say you?

The mere mention of “eSports” is enough to make me feel terribly old and out of touch (I’m not even convinced it can be called sports if it’s all done via e), but the kids seem to dig it and “Mighty Mouse” is clearly about that life. Finally, seems like he’s found a promoter who sees his potential and wants to do something with it. Game on, gamer.

How cool is it that Sharice Davids, former pro MMA fighter, became the first Native American gay woman elected to Congress? Does she work across the aisle with Markwayne Mullin to get the Ali Expansion Act passed?

Very cool, and congrats to Sharice Davids. But it’s not the passage of the Ali Act expansion that I’d worry about so much as the veto. We know the President of the UFC is tight with the President of the United States. We at least have reason to suspect that it might have played a role in slamming the brakes on Leslie Smith’s case before the NLRB.

Do we really think that if Congress managed to pass a law that the UFC is so adamantly opposed to, it wouldn’t prompt a phone call from Dana White to Donald Trump wherein the word “veto” gets thrown around a lot? Because I’d say it’s practically a given.

Two fighters did the dog peeing on the cage thing before entering to mark their territory. Those two fighters secured highlight reel knockouts. Should I incorporate this approach into my own life?

Clean-ish. Or maybe cleaner. But is that not progress? People will still try to cheat, because that’s life, but with random out-of-competition testing at least you have a chance of catching them. That wasn’t the case when every fighter knew he wouldn’t be tested until he showed up to fight.

There’s still a lot that USADA could improve upon, mainly on the transparency front, but also in ensuring that the punishment fits the crime. Still, the old way was a farce. This way doesn’t have to completely stamp out doping altogether in order to be considered an improvement.

In honor of the mid-term elections and to thank his Twitter followers for a sticking with him through a tough year, would President Ben Fowlkes like to make a "State of the Sport" address?